


The Rescue

by Skyepilot



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Cute, Dr. Winslow - Freeform, F/M, Fluffy, Just Add Kittens, Mackelena mention, Male-Female Friendship, Soulmates, platonic you're doing it wrong, soft Coulson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-08
Updated: 2017-07-08
Packaged: 2018-11-29 08:19:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11436879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyepilot/pseuds/Skyepilot
Summary: For #HappyPhilDay2.  It's just a thing I wanted.





	The Rescue

The scene has only barely begun to settle, with the tactical team rounding up the last of the Watchdogs.

They meet together in a huddle to do a quick assessment and figure out what needs the most attention in the aftermath of the mission.

There is still the acrid burning smell of the chemical weapons the Watchdogs unsuccessfully launched, thanks to Daisy, and now they're waiting for the ATCU to show up to handle the cleanup.

Talbot is not going to like cleaning up after them. Again.

"Has anyone seen Coulson?" Daisy asks, because no one else has.

"I left him back by the armored car," Mack answers, and nods his head in that direction, with a frown on his face.

If Yo-Yo were here, they'd already know, but she's not a part of this particular mission and that's all it takes for them to break off from their fellow agents and head back the way they entered the warehouse.

Daisy calls his name a few times, stepping over debris. Coulson can take care of himself after all, but it's not like him to be off coms.

Mack heads right to the vehicle and looks inside through the mangled rear doors, then shakes his head to Daisy, begins to circle the vehicle.

Just when Daisy feels a little bit of panic start to set in, because she remembers vividly the last time he was taken, she hears Mack call her and finds him squatting near the ground next to the curb where the vehicle is wedged up against it.

Her heart goes into her throat for a moment as she sees Mack reach a hand towards the body there.

"Coulson? Can you hear me?"

The body shifts, the tactical gear and the shoes just like the G-man stuff Coulson wears on missions like these.

"Can you move?" Mack presses.

"Sort of," Coulson answers quietly. "Trying not to."

"Daisy get over here and move this car," Mack says impatiently.

"No! No," Coulson goes on and sticks his hand out to wave them off.

"I just need everyone to stay calm," he adds, muffled by the car he's wedged under.

"We just want to make sure you're not hurt," she answers, putting her hands on her knees and bending to get a better view.

"Just in my feelings," he answers in a wry voice. "It seems that I can't charm the pants off of everyone."

That's enough for Daisy and she gets down on the ground and looks underneath the car to see a tiny kitten with its hair on end, backed against the tire and part of the dislocated front bumper.

"Kittens don't wear pants, Coulson," she teases back.

"It got caught under the truck during the fight," he explains. "And, I think it might be hurt. I tried to use my hand to move the truck away, but it's pretty skittish."

She can see its tortoise-colored fur, or maybe it's just soot, and yellow eyes reflected back at her gaze.

"So you were trying to talk the kitten down this whole time?" Mack half-jokes. "You worried Daisy."

"Mack was worried, too," she replies, looking up over her shoulder at him, as he sits down on the edge of the curb.

"I just didn't want it to get left behind in the aftermath," Coulson complains. "Do you guys see any relatives hiding out nearby?"

"Talbot is on his way," Daisy points out. "I'll see if I can find a box. They like small spaces, it makes them feel safe. Unless Mack wants to offer up his arms."

She lifts her hand and Mack smirks at her, then helps pulls her up to her feet as she starts her search.

"What are you going to do with it if you do rescue it?" Mack asks him.

"I haven't thought that far ahead," Coulson replies, and groans and shifts his legs. "Mission all wrapped up?"

"We're good," the other man answers and leans over far enough to get a little peek at the shivering kitten.

"Awww. That little guy Is only a few weeks old," he says softly.

"What makes you think it's a guy?" Coulson asks.

"We can call her 'Shakes'. Like Shakes and Quakes?"

"She can stay in your room," Coulson adds lightly. "You can be in charge of the litterbox."

"Hey, I just come up with the cute nicknames," he says, ducking his head again to see Coulson reaching his hand out towards the kitten. "Elena loves animals, though."

"I was thinking, Dr. Winslow could probably take care of it," Coulson replies, using his arms to push back out from under the car, then stopping.

"Okay, I might be a little stuck."

  
###

"What the hell is this?"

Talbot pushes through the group of agents to find an empty cardboard box at the center, with Coulson holding a small kitten between his hands, looking a bit of a mess.

"Is SHIELD doing animal rescue now?" he huffs at them, then quiets down when everyone glares at him. "Let me guess, Quake got him down from a tree."

"Glenn, you have to admit, he's really cute," Coulson says, smiling up at him as the kitten bites at one of the fingers of his prosthetic.

"Don't Glenn me. And 'he'? Did you all name the damn thing?" he asks, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"I cast my vote," Mack chimes in with a raise of his eyebrows, and watches the kitten move curiously along Coulson's arm towards his.

"ATCU gets a bunch of banged up Watchdogs and a burning shell of a building, and SHIELD gets to play with kittens. Seems fair."

"Definitely," Daisy replies, and pats the kitten's head, when it jumps onto Mack. "He was very heroic."

"It's a kitten," Talbot interrupts, gesturing at the ball of fur. "They're not heroic, they just have instincts."

"I meant Coulson," Daisy replies with a Cheshire grin, as Talbot rolls his eyes.

Then she uses her thumb to wipe away smudge of dirt from his cheek before she leans in and kisses it.

"We, uh, have a stop to make in Wisconsin," Coulson tells Talbot with a faint blush. "So, if you don't mind..."

"We'll stay behind to explain this all to the media? Yes, I mind."

"People love heartwarming animal rescue stories," Daisy suggests, as she lifts the kitten from Mack and lets it bite at the ends of her hair.

  
###

He waits for her as she walks down the sidewalk towards him, slowly, taking her time to arrange all her thoughts so she doesn't forget a thing.

It's always that this time could be the last.  In their line of work, anyway.

"Guess it's all settled, then?" he asks her, leaning against Lola.

"Yes," she says, following a deep sigh. "And I told him he has to find a really special home for Shakes."

"A happy ending is good, right?" he says as he goes around to the passenger door.

She had thought about keeping it, but it's just not the right time yet.

"I also told him about how Shakes was rescued," she says, sitting behind the wheel. "And he said that the guy seems like a real hero. That you can always tell how big someone's heart is by the little things they care about."

She watches him smile from behind his sunglasses and then fidget, looking to her as she turns over Lola's engine.

"You have a really big heart."

She watches his smile get wider as he sits with it, and she pulls away from the curb and down the city street, away from where her father's practice is.

"It's grown a lot in the last several years," he admits, once they're at a stoplight. "I've had so much to fill it with. And time. And not enough of it."

"Still room for more, I hope?"

"Always," he promises.


End file.
